Sudan Conflict
Over 1 million polio vaccines destroyed in Sudan during looting amidst conflict
Khartoum/Sudan: Over one million polio vaccines that were meant for children have been destroyed due to the recent increase in violence and looting in Sudan, UNICEF reported.
After a polio outbreak at the end of 2022, UNICEF was carrying out a series of vaccination campaigns in Sudan, but due to the recent surge in violence and looting, more than one million polio vaccines have been destroyed, reported Reuters.
A number of cold chain facilities have been looted, damaged and destroyed, including over a million polio vaccines in South Darfur," Hazel De Wet, Deputy Director of the Office of Emergency Programmes, UNICEF told Reuters in an email.
Polio is a disease that primarily affects young children and can result in paralysis or death.
While Africa was declared free of wild polio in 2020, Sudan, Malawi, and Mozambique have reported imported cases since then.
According to a database maintained by the World Health Organization, there have been 28 incidents of attacks on healthcare facilities in Sudan since the conflict began last month, with the Sudanese army facing off against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The crisis in Sudan has resulted in numerous humanitarian agencies reporting incidents of looting, including the World Food Programme, which lost supplies worth $13-$14 million.
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